


Perfect Day

by lovehugsandcandy



Category: Open Heart (Visual Novel)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2020-03-06 01:57:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18841303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovehugsandcandy/pseuds/lovehugsandcandy
Summary: Casey and Rafael do not sell seashells by the sea shore. They do a lot of other things though.





	Perfect Day

There was another knock at the door, the second one in less than three minutes, and Casey swore under her breath, digging under the couch cushion.

“I’ll get it!” Sienna bounced by and Casey jumped on top of the couch to grab her. They were the only two awake in the house and Casey knew she should let her roommate open the door; she didn’t want to wake anyone else up. But she just… she wanted to answer the door, to be the one to greet him. She just needed her goddamned keys.

She glared, balancing on her perch on top of the couch, finally letting go of Sienna’s arm. “Do not get that door. Do not touch that door. Give me a minute.”

Sienna stared at her, starting to edge away, slowly walking backwards, as if Casey was a wild animal about to pounce.

“Okaaay…”

Casey dove off the couch and continued her search. “I just need a minute." 

“Does this mean you don’t want the cookies?”

She looked up from behind a cushion. “You made cookies?”

Sienna laughed, sauntering to the kitchen. “Right now, I think Rafael deserves them more than you.”

Casey groaned and reached; finally, she felt metal at the tips of her fingers, just a little further—  _got it_. “Thank God!” Clutching the keys, she ran to the door and pulled it open. “Hi.”

“Hi.” Rafael smiled at her,  impossibly handsome as always. 

“Come in.” Casey smoothed down her hair. With the lost key fiasco, she forgot that she was nervous but now, at the sight of him, the familiar butterflies were back. They always seemed to reappear when he was around; she couldn’t tell if they were drawn in by his courage, his honesty, his love for his family, or his devotion to the community. Or maybe it was the wave in his hair, the quirk of his lips when he smiled, the jacket that hid the t-shirt that hid the muscles. Crap. Casey really liked him.

“Are you sure you’re ready to go? I can give you more time.” The quirk of the lips was back, a half-smile that she just wanted to kiss.

She shook her head. “I just need to get my bag.”

“And the cookies!” Sienna reappeared, chocolate chip cookies in hand, enclosed in tissue paper, red ribbon giving them a festive touch. She handed them over with a grin. “Hi, Rafael.”

“Oh wow, are those for us? Thank you!”

“You need road trip food!”

Casey grabbed her backpack, pulling Sienna in for a hug. “Thank you, you are the best and I love you.” Dropping her voice, she whispered, “I’m sorry if I was mean about the door.”

Sienna laughed. “No sweat. Now, shoo, go have fun.”

With one last wave, Casey grabbed Rafael’s hand and pulled him out to the street, squinting into the sunshine. He opened the car door for her and she threw her bag in. “Thank you, good sir.”

He smiled at her, eyes soft, leaning into a bow before climbing into the driver’s seat himself.

“Do we have everything?” His hair caught the morning light, a soft glow that brightened his features. Casey already thought he was an angel but now he looked it, too, halo of light around his head as he sat in the driver’s seat. 

He caught her staring and she blushed, clearing her throat. “I think so…Playlist?”

“Double check. I have two.” He held up his phone.

“Phone charger?”

He pointed to the USB cord between them.  “Check.” 

“Twizzlers?”

“Ch- wait what? That seems like an unhealthy choice for a doctor…”

She swatted his arm. “I can’t go on a road trip without Twizzlers! Also, these, obviously.” She opened the cookies, handing one over.

He took a bite, one arm on the steering wheel. “Ready to go?”

Casey pulled open the GPS on her phone. “Let’s go, Superman,” She had never been to Cape Cod, hadn’t been to many places in Massachusetts, but Rafael had been nothing but generous with his time, showing her around Boston, taking her in a helicopter, even introducing her to his grandmother. She was excited to see another landmark in the area and even more excited to be doing it with Rafael by her side.

“Oh my God, it says two hours!” Apparently, they were not the only ones headed down the Cape on a beautiful day. “You know, this would have been 15 minutes in the helicopter.” 

“The helicopter is also only used for medical emergencies.”

She batted her eyes at him. “But what if the emergency is that I really want to go to the beach or I’ll die?”

He shot her a wry grin before lacing their fingers together and kissing the back of her hand. “Well, maybe we can find you a paramedic to save the day.”

“Make it a handsome paramedic and you’re on.” She gave his hand a squeeze, wondering if this was what total contentment felt like.

~~~~~

The drive took a long time but for Casey, it seemed to go by in a flash. She and Rafael talked and laughed and ate junk food and bickered over music and she stole kisses when they were completely stopped. She didn’t think she would mind if they never got out of the car.

Finally, the GPS directed them into the parking lot, rows of cars between them and the most gorgeous beach she had ever seen in her life. The sand stretched to the left as far as she could see; on the right, above the rocks and crashing surf, a clam shack stood, a few seagulls squawking around, looking for morsels.

“Oh, I love it!”

He ducked his head. “My family used to come down here sometime in the summers. We would drive down and spend the day in the sand.”

She paused, watching him. “Thank you for sharing it with me.” She liked the idea of him as a child, building sandcastles in the sand. She liked learning even more about him, every small piece of his past. She grabbed his hand, leading him down to the beach, past sunbathers and laughing children to snag a prime piece of real estate.

“Does this look good?”

“This looks great,” Rafael spread out a huge sheet, weighting down the corners with bags and shoes.

Casey wiggled her toes in the sand. “You came prepared!”

“Paramedics are always prepared!” He looked affronted.

“I thought that was the Boy Scouts.”

“Maybe Boy Scouts are just juvenile paramedics.” He grabbed a tube from his bag. “Sunscreen?”

“If you’re offering.” She relaxed under his touch, relishing his strong hands as they massaged her neck, arms, back. “Have I mentioned how amazing you are at that?”

A shy smile. “Maybe a couple times.”

“A couple million times, now get over here, you.” She grabbed the sunscreen from him, applying a generous blob to his nose, then his back. “I can’t have my Superman getting sun burnt.”

T-shirt off, he was every bit the hunk that the nurses talked about. She grinned to herself, gliding her hands in slow circles down the muscles of his back, feeling his sides twitch when she hit a sensitive spot. Sure, they all knew how handsome he was. But she was the only one who knew his heart, the goodness that emanated from every pore of this man. They could look all they wanted; she was the one who got to stand next to the hero.

“Did you want to go in the water?”

She raised her eyebrows at him. “Race ya?”

“Ok, su-” He trailed off as she sprinted away. “Hey! Cheater!”

Casey laughed; she could hear footsteps behind her but she didn’t dare look, didn’t dare turn around and lose momentum. She was so close. So. Close.

“Aaaahh!!” Strong hands wrapped around her waist, pulling her off the ground as she laughed and laughed and laughed. He swung her around, grinning ear-to-ear. 

“You cheated.”

She couldn’t stop laughing, burrowing her face in his shoulders as he carried her further into the ocean. Oh no. She could see where this was going. “Wait….wait…” She was laughing too hard to get the words out.

“One…two…THREE.” Rafael swung her, trying to toss her into the water, waist-deep now.”

Casey held on, tight, arms wrapped around his neck for dear life. He tried to throw her but couldn’t and they both tumbled into the surf. When Casey emerged, wiping water from her eyes, tasting salt and sand, Rafael stood over her, water dripping from his hair, droplets sliding down his face.

“Casey?”

“Yeah?”

“I won.” He grinned as she sputtered at him. She couldn’t stay mad long and wrapped him in a hug, his warmth warding off the chill from the water.

“Hey, Rafael?”

“Yeah?”

She kissed his cheek, then cupped his cheek for a chaste kiss, salt and happiness on his lips. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For coming up with this idea. For showing me this place.” She shrugged. “For being you.”

He held her close, one kiss fading into the next as the water lapped around them.

~~~~~

They walked down the beach, collecting seashells and swapping stories. They went back in the water when it got too hot, body surfing and splashing each other. They hung out on the sand, sharing a pair of earbuds, using them as an excuse to lie close. When they got hungry and ran out of cookies, Casey looked down the beach. “Wanna hit the crab shack?”

“You read my mind.”

Together, they packed up their things to put into the car then walked hand-in-hand to get lunch. After five minutes of indecision (both the lobster roll and the fried clams looked amazing), Rafael wisely broke the stalemate.

“You get one, I’ll get the other, and we share?”

Casey had to stand on her tiptoes to kiss his nose. “You are a genius.”

Both of the options looked better than they’d thought and Casey’s mouth watered as they sat at one of the picnic tables. The surf crashed behind them, the sun was high in the sky. Casey had amazing food in front of her, an amazing man next to her. Was this heaven?

“Ok, let’s split it.” He grabbed half of his lobster roll, sliding it on her plate, while she did the same with the clams. “I’ll get more napkins.”

He made it three steps when disaster struck. Casey would have screamed if she had more time to react but, suddenly, there was a commotion above her, around her, flapping wings and squawking cries and then? A violent robbery.

She was covering her head, trying to protect herself from the aerial assault, but they were everywhere. Rafael ran back the three steps, waving his arms around, trying to get the seagulls to disperse. He was yelling or laughing or both at the same time; she didn’t know. All she could do was duck and laugh.

By the time he had chased them away, they had stolen all her fries, most of the clams, and half the lobster roll. She frowned as she trudged back to the line, trailing behind Rafael, gripping his hand, warm and solid in hers. “Stupid seagulls.”

He laughed, arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. “You know they can sense weakness, right? They knew you would leave the food undefended.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Weakness? I’ll show you weakness!”

He dodged her hands as she lunged, trying to tickle him into submission, fingertips gliding under clothes and over smooth skin. They were laughing so loud that the woman at the counter had to yell “NEXT!” six times before she got their attention.

~~~~~

“I am so full!”

Rafael opened his book next to her. “I told you it was good.”

She sprawled out, utterly content. “I’m totally going to go walk it off.”

“Really.”

“Uh huh. After maybe just one tiny nap.”

He laughed, running his hand through her hair, lightly pulling on the drying curls. “Sure thing, Sleeping Beauty.”

She was going to respond, she really was going to, but she was so full and the sun was so warm and the salt in the air was so relaxing that when she opened her eyes again, she was shocked to see that he wasn’t next to her anymore and the sun had moved across the sky, changing the angles of the shadows along the sand.

“Huh? Rafael?”

She looked up, shielding her eyes. He was standing up, looking intently into the ocean.

“Rafael?”

He didn’t seem to hear her, started walking away, when a sharp whistle, three blasts, made her jump. Rafael started running, sprinting to the water as Casey sat up, still groggy. There was a commotion, a yelling, a lifeguard running into the water, Rafael hot on his heels.

“Oh crap.” Casey jumped up, scanning the water, trying to see what they were looking at. She followed, but couldn’t see anything out of place. Another lifeguard, barely a teenager, sprinted by her with a huge plastic stretcher, and Casey realized she had to move.

She followed, racing to the edge of the beach, hand shielding her eyes. She couldn’t see Rafael anymore, almost started yelling for him, when there was a splash, more splashes, and a yell and there he was, he was swimming, then carrying someone, a woman, unconscious, out of the water. Crap.

“Quick.” She grabbed the stretcher, putting in down on the sand for a stable surface. “Rafael, here!” She screamed and waved to him, relieved when he headed her way, moving carefully, cradling the woman’s body, the other lifeguard trailing behind her.

It was like being back at work, the efficiency with which they moved. He lowered the woman onto the stretcher as Casey knelt, two fingers to her neck, ear to her mouth. “No respiration, no pulse.”

Rafael dropped to the ground, ready to step in, but Casey waved him off. “No, you just saved her. I need fresh arms. You.” She pointed to the lifeguard, who cautiously came closer.

“Me?”

“Yes, you. Get over here. You’re on chest compressions. Rafael, get an ambulance here.”

Rafael and the other lifeguard took off, back towards the beach, as Casey turned towards the lifeguard. She originally thought he was in high school but, up close, she wondered if that was an overestimate. How old could you be before you could work? Jesus.

“Do you know CPR?”

“Uhhh…… I mean, I took a class.”

Casey took a deep breath. “I give her two breaths, you do 30 compressions. Right here. Count out loud.”

The lifeguard was turning green. Crap. 

“Hey. We can do this, ok? You ready?” She rubbed his shoulder, trying to transmit some of her calm.

Finally, the lifeguard met her eye. “Ok. We can do this.”

“Good.” Casey tipped her head back, carefully, and delivered two slow, steady breaths, watching the compressions. “One and two and three and-”

All she could do was breath and count and hope that, this time, it would be enough.

~~~~~

She heard the siren wail, the ambulance weaving through the parked cars to get to the street. Rafael wrapped his arms around her waist. “You ok?”

“Yeah…” She let her head drop on his shoulder. “I hope she’s ok.”

He nodded, eyes distantly gazing over her. “They know what they are doing. I think we got her in time.”

“I wish I could have done more,” she frowned.

“Well, you always are taking care of everyone else, your friends, your patients.” He kissed her forehead. “Maybe you should let someone else take care of things for a while.”

She smiled up at him and watched the reflection in the waves, sun low over the water. They stood there, in silence, holding tight to each other in the sea breeze.

“You ready to go?”

“Yeah, I think so.” 

~~~~~

They found their blanket and packed up their things, heading back to the car in comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Opening the door, she took one last look at the beach, the waves, the sun sinking into the horizon, and got in the car.

“Hey, Rafael?”

“Yeah?”

“This was a perfect day.”

He looked at her. “Uh, besides the woman who almost drowned.”

“And the traffic.”

“And the seagulls.”

She looked at him, watching the setting sun reflect in his eyes.

“Hey, Rafael?”

“Yeah?”

“…….This was a perfect day.”


End file.
